Horse Dental Care and Welfare Implications

Equine dental disease is one of the most common and underdiagnosed health conditions in horses, with sharp enamel points, infections, and EOTRH causing chronic pain that significantly impairs welfare and performance.

Key Facts

Horses require regular dental rasping every 6-12 months as their continuously erupting teeth develop sharp points
Equine Odontoclastic Tooth Resorption and Hypercementosis (EOTRH) causes severe pain in aging horses
Horses with dental pain often continue eating despite significant oral discomfort, masking welfare problems from owners
Bit contact with dental abnormalities causes acute pain during riding that owners may misattribute to behavioral problems
Equine dental practitioners require specific training and equipment including power floats for effective treatment

Welfare Considerations

Equine dental disease causes chronic pain that is frequently unrecognized because horses continue to eat and perform despite significant oral discomfort. Horses with painful dental abnormalities may show performance problems, resistance to the bit, head tossing, and difficulty chewing that owners attribute to behavioral issues or tack problems rather than dental pain. Regular dental examination by a qualified equine dental practitioner allows early detection and treatment of conditions before they cause prolonged suffering. Older horses with EOTRH may require extractions to alleviate severe chronic pain.

What You Can Do

Schedule equine dental examination every 6-12 months with a qualified equine dental practitioner
Have performance problems and resistance to the bit investigated for dental causes before behavioral interventions
Ensure older horses over 15 years receive dental screening for EOTRH which becomes increasingly common
Learn to recognize signs of dental pain in horses including quidding, dropping food, and facial asymmetry
Support veterinary training programs that include thorough equine dentistry education